Booking Glory-Chapter 32: [Bonus - ]Merchandise Magic!!!

A/N: Hey Folks,

I am really happy with the love and support you have shown over the past day for this fic. We have exceeded our goal of 50 power stones as of this update. I thank everyone for their support and am very happy to see this occur.

And as I promised, here is the bonus Chapter. Enjoy...

*****

"Well Rob, have you gone through the contract with your lawyer," Mr. Gibson asked amicably looking at Rob who was sitting opposite him.

It was Monday morning, and the first thing Rob did when he came in was to visit Mr. Gibson’s office to drop off his signed contract. Rob tried to see any indication of evidence as to the little loophole left in the contract on Mr. Gibson’s face, but it was in vain.

The old man was sporting an amicable expression and he was acting like there wasn’t anything wrong with the contract at all. Rob thought about it a bit and decided that if Mr. Gibson was the one to leave that little loophole then he wouldn’t ask him to check it with a lawyer.

So, it probably was done without his knowledge as well.

Deciding to not make a big issue out of it, Rob handed his signed contract back to Mr. Gibson. Mr. Gibson let out a huge sigh internally as his biggest fear was Rob refusing the contract.

Mr. Gibson knew that Rob was worth more than what he was offering. His booking alone was worth the amount he was being offered and now that he had commentary duties too, the amount LWC offered Rob was not that big, to be honest.

"Good, good," Mr. Gibson smiled happily after receiving the contract. "If there is nothing else, you may go and be about your work."

"Actually Mr. Gibson, I had something else I wanted to discuss," Rob said pushing a piece of paper in front of Mr. Gibson.

Mr. Gibson saw the piece of paper and frowned a little. He was afraid that Rob would ask for something that he couldn’t provide. Even though Rob had already signed the contract, it would be awkward to refuse him right after he signed it.

"This..." Mr. Gibson looked at Rob enquiringly.

"This is a new idea I have for this Wednesday’s <Fyre>. Just check it out and let’s see if it could be done," Rob said with a small smile.

He was sure that Mr. Gibson would like this.

"This... it looks like a T-shirt design," Mr. Gibson said looking at the drawing that was on the paper.

The design was simple, but it was inspired by the countless wrestling merchandise Rob owned in his previous life. The design showcased a black T-shirt with the words <WHY DACEY WHY> written in white on it.

Rob had designed it ingeniously by splitting the words into three segments. The first WHY occupied the top, then DACEY came in the middle, and finally the last WHY rounded out the bottom.

It was simple, neat, and elegant. But, it also looked powerful. Rob decided to go for a simple but powerful message on the T-shirt. This would rile up the crowd further and create more impact when Dacey marches out to address the crowd.

"Yes, it is the merchandise I have designed for Dacey. And if it is possible, I want this done before this Wednesday’s show," Rob stated his needs clearly.

"Dacey isn’t big enough yet for her own merchandise, Rob," Mr. Gibson said shaking his head.

"I know, but unlike other merchandise, this one can help her become big. Just, hear me out first, I want at least a hundred of these T-shirts before Wednesday. We can put it on the counter before the show," Rob said looking at Mr. Gibson.

"We will even give some T-shirts free for them to wear. Select some fans and give them away. The only requirement is they need to show up on Wednesday wearing this."

"You want to create a crowd effect with this T-shirt," Mr. Gibson guessed Rob’s motives pretty quick.

"I have noticed over the weekend that the phrase <Why Dacey Why!?> has become popular. I even overheard a few fans discussing bringing placards to upcoming <Fyre> with those words written on it," Rob explained his reason.

"And you want to capitalize on that and sell some T-shirts," Mr. Gibson said catching on to Rob’s motives.

"Not exactly," Rob said shaking his head. "I feel that the right merchandise can both elevate the audience’s connection and the wrestler himself. These words are popular now. Put it on a T-shirt and it becomes a movement. And if we drag Dacey revealing her motives a bit, we can sell out more of this stuff."

"Hmmm, but do we have enough time for it? Dacey must reveal within the next two weeks about her motives before we bring out Diana to confront her. We can’t let Diana sit out for a long time," Mr. Gibson said with a frown.

"Actually, I was already planning to milk this question a bit for a week or two. But, if we add this T-shirt to it, I can create a sensation in two to three weeks. After that, having Dacey reveal the motives will also validate the T-shirt," Rob explained his plan.

"And it is not as if that Dacey is going to do something outrageous. She is going to be doing dick stuff all the time. So, this T-shirt really is a perfect fit for her character to grow into."

"We do have some ties and if we put in a rush order we can do what you want by Wednesday," Mr. Gibson said thinking. "But, does Dacey have enough value to create merchandise for her at this point?"

"It’s not just about the merchandise. It will be about the story as well. How about this, just order a hundred. I assure you it will get sold out by the end of the show. If it does, we can always order more," Rob suggested.

"That does make sense to me, but I am really not sure about these first hundred though," Mr. Gibson said frowning.

"Mr. Gibson, trust me, this will sell out like hotcakes," Rob said empathetically.

Mr. Gibson looked at Rob for a few moments before nodding.

"Fine, I will put in a rush order. But, I don’t think the design is right, no one is going to buy a T-shirt with just words on it," Mr. Gibson said looking at the design. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"No, Mr. Gibson. We don’t want to add anything to this. That is the best part about this. The design should be simple enough, but the words needed to be powerful as well. If we add anything more, we will be taking the attention from the words. I want these words to be on everyone’s lips by the end of this week," Rob persuaded Mr. Gibson earnestly.

Mr. Gibson didn’t seem to look convinced. He turned the sheet around a couple of times and tried to see something in it.

"I still feel that adding a picture would be good. How about the one with Dacey flipping off?" Mr. Gibson asked frowning.

"Any other time, it would be great," Rob said looking at Mr. Gibson intently. "But not now. It is those words. Those words need to be more popular than anything else. Putting a picture would take away the attention from them."

"And having Dacey flip off could be released later when she gets some traction. That way, it would be kind of like a response to these words."

The moment he said that Rob knew he had Mr. Gibson. Mr. Gibson’s eyes brightened upon hearing the last statement.

"And if Dacey wears a shirt of her flipping off in response to the crowd wearing this, both T-shirts will begin to sell like hotcakes," Rob explained once more causing Mr. Gibson to nod along excitedly.

"Fine, we will do it your way," Mr. Gibson said with a smile.

"Oh, send one to Dallas. I want him to wear it this week. It would give me a good opening to start fighting with him," Rob said with an evil smirk on his face causing Mr. Gibson to laugh loudly.

"And I am sure when the other T-shirt comes you will be wearing it as retaliation as well," Mr. Gibson said chuckling.

"Obviously!"

*****

"So, what do you think? Will this help you out a little?" Rob asked as the videotape ended.

Dacey looked stunned for a moment. She had just ended watching the trial version of Dallas and Rob’s commentary tape featuring her segment. There were hardly any words coming out of her.

She had already seen the original tape as part of the review meeting conducted last Wednesday. But, with this new commentary, her entire view of the segment changed drastically.

In this tape, she didn’t look frozen. Every one of her actions was presented in a better light. She didn’t know if anything else could be done at all. This looked so perfect.

And she had to say the commentary really made her look different. Rob’s praises of her and his constant defense of her made her character look fuller and very attractive.

As a result, she was left speechless.

"We will be going ahead with this form from this weekly show. So, you don’t need to worry much about the telecast. But, be warned, we can only do so much. If your performance is abysmal, there is nothing we could do," Rob said sternly causing her to nod.

"On the other hand, if your performance is good, then this form of commentary will elevate it to a better level as well. So, the better you do, the better your output will be."

"Who came up with this idea?"

"Well, it was my idea. I was sitting in the Control Pit during your segment and found that there was no one talking for you. We played on it and ended up like this," Rob said shrugging his shoulders.

"Does it mean that you wouldn’t be in Control Pit for my segments anymore?"

"Yeah, I will take up the role of a color commentator from now on. When I pitched this, the biggest question was whether it was worth it to change commentary for a single wrestler," Rob said looking at Dacey.

"So, we did a few more samples to see if this could be implemented to all the segments and it worked out. Now, Mr. Gibson wants me in the commentary. That means you will not have me controlling your segments any longer."

"I am both relieved and worried to hear that," Dacey said shaking her head.

"It is what it is, we need to make things work with what we have been given," Rob chuckled. "Anyway, don’t worry, I will make sure to hype you to the moon during your segments."

"Yeah, about that, what’s the stuff with you calling me Goddess throughout the segment," Dacey asked raising her eyebrows.

"Ahem!" Rob coughed in embarrassment causing Dacey to chuckle. "Well, I wanted to set you apart. It was the first thing that came to my mind. I am really conflicted now. Should I call you Queen or Goddess?"

"You are seriously asking me," Dacey said incredulously.

"It is going to be your epithet. It is better if you have a say in that," Rob replied seriously.

"Hmmm, Queen Dacey... or Goddess Dacey? You know this is a tough call to take," Dacey said shaking her head.

"You need to choose one," Rob said without missing a beat.

"Why can’t I have both?"

"There are only so many epithets that can be given out. You having more than one would mean it would not be available for others."

"I don’t care, I am booking both."

Rob looked at Dacey for a minute before shaking his head in disbelief.

"Whatever, it isn’t like it is going to be a problem for some time. I will try to use it interchanging and see which one sticks with the crowd," Rob said letting out a sigh.

Dacey merely looked at him with hooded eyes. It kinda made him feel a little uncomfortable. So, he decided to change the topic.

"Well, how’s your progress with getting used to crowd reaction going?"

"Don’t ask me," Dacey grumbled. "I spent the entire weekend trying to get used to it. I asked them to play it and stood in the ring trying to assimilate myself with it. It is really hard."

"Think of it this way, the more the crowd boos you, the better your performance is," Rob said in return.

"It’s not that. It is hard to take all that negativity and stand there," Dacey said biting her lips.

"Dacey, you really did good with how you handled last week’s crowd reaction," Rob said looking at her earnestly. "Could you have handled it better? Absolutely. But, this is new for both you and the crowd. You will need some time to get used to it."

"Especially, what you did at the end was pure gold. You have created so much hate for your character with the way you have acted. And what you need to do now is to maintain that and capitalize on it. You do know that we are planning to put the belt on you, right?"

"What? You want me to flip the crowd off again?" Dacey snorted shaking her head.

Rob remained silent, but he stared intensely at Dacey. Dacey’s self-ridicule faltered as she saw Rob’s look. Understanding dawned on her as she noticed how absolutely serious Rob was.

"No, no," Dacey shook her head frantically. "You can’t ask me to do that! This is insane! You are out of your damn mind, Rob. The crowd will hate me to the core if I did that."

"Exactly," Rob stressed. "You are playing the bad guy. If the crowd hated you, then it is a success."

"You are kidding me," Dacey hissed.

"Look, Dacey, there are two kinds of hate. The first is that I just can’t stand to watch that person wrestle. I really don’t like him. This is pure hatred. We should never go for that."

"The other kind is where the gold is. I absolutely hate that person, but I can’t stop watching that person. I would really pay some money to see get them beaten up. I just love to hate that particular person."

"The second one is what we are going for. The more you antagonize the crowd, the more they will hate you for it. But, they will also love you for it because you are making it interesting for them."

"When you make it interesting for them, you become something integral to the product. The more they love to hate you, the more they will pay to see you get beaten."

"And we are going to milk that sentiment. Think of yourself as this annoying neighbor whom you absolutely loathe. That person is being a dick all day around everyone. And there will be people willing to see them get beaten down and put in their place."

"You can’t be serious, Rob. Flipping the crowd off again and again would..."

"...would make them loathe you. Would make them want to see someone beat you up." Rob finished Dacey’s sentence with a smile. "Tell you what, Mr. Gibson wanted to put the picture of you flipping off on a T-shirt."

"What!!!?" Dacey hissed.

"I vetoed it though," Rob said side eyeing Dacey. He saw that despite her disapproval of the picture there was some disappointment when he said he vetoed the idea.

"Thank god, I don’t want my first merchandise to be me flipping people off," Dacey snorted.

"Ah, about that, we will be having that T-shirt. Just not now. That will be your next merchandise. We do have something else planned for your first one."

Dacey’s eyes bugged out hearing them.

Rob smiled mischievously as he retrieved the design he had settled with Mr. Gibson and pushed it to her. The paper was folded so that the content was on the inside and the white paper was visible on the outside.

"Be warned, you may not like this," Rob said watching her pick the design up in a daze.

"Huh," Dacey voiced her opinion on the design in a confused manner.

The words <WHY DACEY WHY!?> stared out at her as she looked down at the design in her hands. She looked at Rob enquiringly.

"If everything goes well, a minimum of hundreds of this T-shirt will be available for fans to buy on Wednesday just before the show," Rob said with a small smile.

"My first merchandise..." Dacey whispered in a trance looking at the design.

"We are planning to use this in an angle. What I want you to do is to cut a promo deriding this T-shirt this week," Rob said looking at Dacey’s stunned form.

The moment Dacey heard the words, her eyes snapped to Rob. Her lips pursed and she looked at him threateningly.

"You want me to deride my own merchandise on live TV?" Dacey hissed.

"Exactly. The more you deride it, the more people will buy it in opposition to you," Rob said with a smirk plastered on his face.

Dacey was silent for a long moment. She looked at the T-shirt and back at Rob as if trying to decipher something. In the end, she let out a huge sigh and slumped down.

"Fine, I will do it. Oh god! This is my first merchandise and I am going to deride it on national TV. You are a prick, you know," Dacey hissed looking at Rob. "You are a Grade–A prick to make me do this."

"I know," Rob merely smirked.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

Make sure to add this book to your collection and vote with your power stones to show your appreciation for this work.

You can also check out my other book [Demon Immortal] and see if it is to your liking.

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